Sueño MLS Houston finalists announced

HOUSTON (Tuesday,
April 20, 2010) – Major League Soccer and the Houston Dynamo announced today
the names of the five talented young players that will represent the team in
Los Angeles at the “Final Event” of Sueño MLS 2010 - built by The Home
Depot, the nationally-televised player search showcased on “República Deportiva,”
the popular Univision weekly Spanish-language sports show that chronicles the
tryouts in a “reality show within a show” format.

The five Houston-area standouts are:

Name

Position

Age

Hometown

Nelson Castro

Center Def.

14

Houston, TX

Juan Contreras

Left Mid.

16

Dickinson, TX

Eric Martinez

Forward

15

Houston, TX

Marco Ortiz

Center Mid.

15

Crowley, TX

Lorenzo Salazar

Center Mid.

15

Houston, TX

The five players, whose personal
stories were featured on “República Deportiva” this past Sunday, fought their
way past more than 400 competitors in an open tryout to become one of ten local
finalists, and endured a week of training with the Houston Dynamo’s Youth Academy.

Entering its fourth year, Sueño MLS 2010 -
built by The Home Depot, included three local tryouts in Houston,
Chicago and Los Angeles (LA Galaxy) during the first three weeks of April
2010. In the
next two weekends “República Deportiva” will unveil the final five finalists
from the Chicago and Los Angeles tryouts.

Ultimately, five standouts from each city (15
players in total) will receive invitations to an exciting five-day “Final
Event” in Los Angeles. The finals will include training sessions,
scrimmages, guest celebrity scouts, and an opportunity to meet some of the
League’s biggest stars. The Sueño MLS champion will be crowned
on Sunday, May 9, on “República Deportiva.”

MLS sponsors participating in Sueño MLS 2010 – Built by The Home Depot,include The Home Depot, Volkswagen and Degree Men.

ABOUT
THE HOUSTON
FINALISTS:

Nelson
Castro, defender, 14 – Houston, TX

Nelson is a very smart player who made a tremendous
impression on the coaches on the first day of the tryouts. The young
Salvadorian-American is smart with the ball when he is on the offensive, and
made it difficult for players to get by him on the defensive side. The 9th grader at Eastwood Academy lists Oguchi Onyewu of the U.S.
National Team as his favorite player, “because of his height and strength and
because he plays my position.”

Juan
Contreras, midfielder, 16 – Dickinson, TX

Born
in Guadalajara, Mexico,
Contreras is a crafty midfielder from Dickinson,
TX (about 30 miles south of Houston).
The Dickinson
High School junior was
almost not selected, not as a result of talent, but because there was some
confusion over which Juan Contreras was meant to be in the Finals. Juan
shared the same name with another player on trial – eventually the two were
distinguished by geography, as the other player was from Houston.
He lists Barcelona’s
Argentine midfielder Lionel Messi as his favorite player “because of the way he
touches the ball…has the ball glued to his feet at all times, and he is also a
left footer like me.”

Eric
Martinez, forward, 15 – Houston, TX

Martinez, a freshman at Dekaney High School, tried out for the ODP
(Olympic Development Program) team in 2009 but didn't have the resources to
pursue it. Eric made the ODP team this year and is scheduled to play
games in Alabama
this summer. The young Mexican-American plays for his high school, and
enjoys a soccer pedigree, as his older cousin Oved played for the reserves at Puebla (Mexico).

Marco
Ortiz, midfielder, 15 – Crowley, TX

According
to Dynamo scouts, Ortiz had the look of a finalist from the moment he walked on
to the trials, before ever touching a ball. Early on in his first game,
coaches identified this Mexican-American as particularly gifted playmaker in
the middle of the field. Ortiz is a 9th
grader at Crowley
High School, where he was
the only freshman selected to play on the varsity team and was voted as a
district All-Star. Crowley,
TX is outside Fort Worth,
about a five hour drive from Houston. Not surprisingly for a midfielder, his
favorite player is also Messi. Of the
field, he is a member of his school’s student council, and was recently voted
“most likely to become famous” by his peers.

Lorenzo
Salazar, midfielder, 15 – Houston, TX

Salazar
impressed coaches early on in the open tryouts with his simple play and
technique. The Austin
High School freshman
scored the first goal on Day 2, taking advantage of his height with a well-placed
header. Lorenzo, whose father is Mexican, rushed back from the
prestigious Dallas Cup to compete in Sueño MLS. According to Salazar, he
was offered a trial by Mexico’s
Tigres, and turned it down to pursue opportunities in the United States. His favorite player is Real Madrid’s
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Photos of the five Houston finalists are available at the MLS
FTP: ftp://ftp.mlsnet.com
- User name: mlsphoto / Password:
ml$ph@t@. Video also available by
request.

April 18 Houston trials featured
and Top 5 announced on República
Deportiva

April 25 Chicago trials featured
and Top 5 announced on República
Deportiva

May 2 Los Angeles trials
featured and Top 5 announced on República
Deportiva

May
5-9 "Final
Event” in LA

May
9 Announcement
of winner on República Deportiva

PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY:

Eligible players must be between the ages of 14
and 18 years old (with appropriate identification) and retain their amateur
status. Current collegiate student athletes will not be permitted to attend the
final event in Los Angeles.
Sueño MLS participants will be responsible for all personal expenses associated
with the local market tryout, including travel to local tryouts, lodging, food,
soccer equipment (shoes, training gear, etc.), etc. Program sponsors will cover
all expenses for fifteen (15) participants selected to attend the final event
in Los Angeles, CA. For more information, please visit www.SuenoMLS.com.
Participation in the event is free. Players may not register for more
than one city.